Epidemic
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Pai and Taruto are sick, and Kisshu goes to get Ichigo to help him take care of them. When he finds her, however, she tells him that she and him are the only ones in Tokyo who aren't sick. What's going on?


**Epidemic**

Kisshu and Taruto were worried. Pai had come down with something, and since he was the only healer, they couldn't do much besides give him medicine- which wasn't helping all that much.

One morning, Kisshu woke up, and went to take a shower. When he was done, he went to the kitchen, and was surprised to see Taruto wasn't there. _Uh-oh… _he thought. Kisshu teleported to Taruto's door, and called, "Taruto?"

"Kisshu?" Taruto asked. "I don't feel good…."

Kisshu opened the door and went in, going over to Taruto, who was lying in bed. He put a hand on Taruto's forehead, and sighed. "Looks like you caught whatever Pai has," Kisshu said.

"We're getting low on fever medicine," Taruto commented.

Kisshu groaned. "I don't know how to make more," he said.

"Me neither," Taruto sighed.

Kisshu thought, then said, "I'm bringing Ichigo in; I can't do this alone."

"Why Ichigo?" Taruto asked.

"If I kidnap Lettuce and the others find out, they'll be better equipped to rescue her," Kisshu said.

"Oh… can I go back to sleep?" Taruto asked.

"Sure, it's good for you," Kisshu said. He went and got a cool cloth, then came back and put it over Taruto's forehead. He quietly left, and teleported to Ichigo's room.

Ichigo was reading when Kisshu teleported in, and she sighed, looking at him. "Why are you here?" she asked. "Tokyo's not exactly a great place to be right now."

"Why?" Kisshu asked, puzzled.

"Everyone's sick," Ichigo said. "Except for me, and apparently you. The city's been shut down; absolutely everyone is sick. And they've all got something like the flu, but when the outbreak first started, the doctors didn't think it was the flu. Do you know anything about this?"

"No, but Pai and Taruto are sick too," Kisshu said. "And that's why I'm here, because I don't think I can handle taking care of both of them. Can you come help?"

Ichigo sighed. "I guess," she said. "Do I need to bring any of the medicine I have?"

"No, it's poisonous to us," Kisshu said. "I would suggest bringing sleepover stuff, though."

Ichigo nodded and got her pajamas and toiletries, then put on a pair of sneakers and looked at Kisshu. He took her hand and teleported to his room. When they landed, Ichigo put her stuff down, and said, "This is huge."

"I guess," Kisshu said. "I've got my own bathroom, too."

"Cool!" Ichigo said.

Kisshu smiled slightly, and asked, "Do you know how to cook?"

"Yeah, do you want me to make soup or something?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Kisshu said. He took her hand again and teleported to the kitchen. "You can just make ramen, if you want," Kisshu told Ichigo.

"Alright," Ichigo said. "Where is it?"

"The cabinet to the left under the sink," Kisshu said. "I have to check on Pai and Taruto; I'll be back."

"'Kay," Ichigo said, looking under the stove for a pot. She found one as Kisshu teleported out, and got some ramen out, then filled the pot with water and set it on the stove to boil.

Kisshu, meanwhile, had gone to check on Pai first. His fever had gone down some, and he woke up as Kisshu took his hand off his forehead. "Kisshu?" he asked.

"I'm here," Kisshu said. "Taruto's sick, though."

"I'm feeling a little better," Pai said. "Is there anything to eat?"

"Ichigo's making ramen," Kisshu said. "She agreed to come help. And she said everyone in Tokyo is sick with the same thing you and Taruto got. For some reason, she didn't get it."

Pai looked worried, and asked, "Are the other Mews sick?"

"I assume so, Ichigo didn't say," Kisshu said. "She just said everyone except her was sick. What are you thinking?"

"Deep Blue," Pai said. "What if he wanted some way of getting the entire population of Tokyo out of the way? It would explain why everyone's sick, and Ichigo was probably left healthy only so she could see everyone else die around her."

"But why am I still healthy?" Kisshu asked. "Wouldn't Deep Blue want me out of the way first?"

"It may just be a matter of time, then," Pai said. "Go ask Ichigo if she knows where Aoyama is, and if she does, go and kill him. He's Deep Blue's human host."

"Okay," Kisshu said. He teleported to the kitchen, and found Ichigo pouring ramen into two bowls. "Koneko-chan, Pai thinks the reason everyone's sick is because Deep Blue wants to kill us all," Kisshu said.

"But why am I healthy?" Ichigo asked.

"Most likely because as long as you're still healthy, you'd have to watch everyone die around you," Kisshu said grimly. "Pai said Deep Blue's human host is Treehugger; do you know where he is?"

"In the hospital near my school; my friends beat him up for dumping me," Ichigo said.

"Thanks," Kisshu said. "I'll-" He was cut off by a tickle in his throat, and he started coughing. He felt Ichigo put a hand on his forehead, and as he stopped coughing, she said, "You're burning up, Kisshu. I think killing Deep Blue isn't going to be an option for you right now."

"I have to," Kisshu said. "There's no other way to end this epidemic. I'll die if I don't kill him, and so will your friends and everyone else."

Ichigo sighed. "At least take me with you," she said, and transformed.

Kisshu sighed too, and grabbed her hand, then teleported to the hospital she had mentioned. They landed in a hallway, in front of a door labeled with the number 236, and Kisshu stumbled a bit. Ichigo caught him, and asked softly, "Is this it?"

"Yeah," Kisshu said. He opened the door and went in, summoning his swords as Ichigo followed him. She nearly bumped into him as he stopped dead, and looked around him. A tall Cyniclon man with long black hair and ice blue eyes was standing in front of them, smirking.

"You fell right into my trap," Deep Blue said. He took out a sword, and asked, "How do you expect to defeat me while you're sick?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to try," Kisshu said. He took out his sais, and Ichigo took her cue from that, taking out her Strawberry Bell.

Deep Blue smirked and lunged at Kisshu, who caught Deep Blue's blade between his sais. Deep Blue pushed him back, until Ichigo used her Strawberry Surprise attack to blast Deep Blue into a wall. She noticed as Deep Blue was getting up that Kisshu was looking a bit unsteady. Suddenly he staggered, and fell to one knee. Ichigo tackled him out of the way as Deep Blue tried to bring his sword down on Kisshu's head, and quickly said, "Kisshu, give me your swords. You're in no condition to fight."

Kisshu looked unsure, but handed her his swords- just as the door opened. A woman in a nurse's outfit came in, and stopped dead. "What's going on in here?" she asked.

Deep Blue smirked, but Ichigo noticed his intent, and blocked him as he lunged at the young woman. Ichigo trapped Deep Blue's sword between Kisshu's sais, and held firm as he tried to push her down. To the young woman she said, "Do me a favor, and get Kisshu out of here. He's in no condition to fight, and I'm not sure I can protect him as well as myself."

The young woman carefully ran over to Kisshu, and helped him stand. He hesitated a minute, but then let her drag him out of the room. Deep Blue snarled as the door shut behind them, and looked back at Ichigo, then put more pressure on the sais she was holding, trying to force her back. Ichigo held firm, but then suddenly broke the contact, startling Deep Blue and giving Ichigo the opportunity to kick the sword out of his hand. She kicked it out of reach, then crossed Kisshu's swords and concentrated. A ball of pink energy began to form, and Ichigo lunged forward as Deep Blue backed up, stabbing him through the heart and incinerating him at the same time. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing but a pile of ash and some melted metal from the sword. Ichigo sighed and went out of the room, where she found the young woman and Kisshu, who was unconscious. The young woman looked up and said, "Is that other guy gone?"

"Yeah, I incinerated him," Ichigo said. "How's Kisshu?"

"Not good; he's got a really high fever," the young woman said.

"That's not good; he told me human medicine is poisonous," Ichigo said. "I guess I'd better call Pai; maybe he can help." She concentrated, and called telepathically, _Pai!_

_How's Kisshu? _Pai asked.

_Not good, he's unconscious with a pretty bad fever, _Ichigo replied. _Are you able to help?_

_I think so, but what about Deep Blue? _Pai asked.

_He's dead, I killed him, _Ichigo said. _Can you come help Kisshu now?_

_I'm on my way, _Pai said, and cut the connection.

Two minutes later, he teleported in, and looked wary when he saw the young woman. Ichigo sighed and said, "It couldn't be helped; she came in during the fight and I asked her to get Kisshu out of there while I killed Deep Blue."

Pai sighed and knelt next to Kisshu, putting a hand on his chest. "Stay quiet," he said, and his hand began to glow. Kisshu's harsh breathing started to even out, and the flush left his cheeks slowly. Ten minutes later, Pai took his hand away and said, "That's all I can do; I'm not at full strength. And I have to go heal Taruto too, so I can't teleport you two. I can take Kisshu's sais back, though."

The young woman was still there, and she said timidly, "Um… I can drive them home…."

"That's a good idea, Kisshu can stay with me until he's recovered," Ichigo said. "It's not like my parents are home."

"Alright," Pai said. "I'll be by to check on you after I heal Taruto, okay?"

"Thanks," Ichigo said. Pai nodded and teleported off with Kisshu's sais, and Ichigo sighed, then asked the young woman, "Where's your car?"

"The front of the parking lot; I wasn't as sick as some of the others, and I was still able to go out and get stuff if need be, so I parked close by," the young woman said. "Come with me."

Ichigo got up, and picked up Kisshu, then followed the young woman to the parking lot. She unlocked a white car, and said, "Why don't you put Kisshu in the backseat? It's better if he's lying down."

Ichigo gently laid Kisshu on the backseat of the car, and then sat down with him, resting his head in her lap. The young woman got in the driver's seat, and asked, "Where are we going?"

"265 Ayame Street," Ichigo said.

"Ayame Street's not too far from here, right?" the young woman asked.

"Yeah, it's about four blocks away," Ichigo replied.

"Okay," the young woman said, and started up the car, then started driving.

They eventually reached Ichigo's house, and the young woman helped Ichigo get Kisshu out of the car. "Thank you so much for all your help," Ichigo said.

"You're welcome," the young woman said. "Do you need help getting him inside?"

"No, I'll be fine," Ichigo said. The young woman smiled and got back in her car as Ichigo got the spare key out and opened the door. She carried Kisshu upstairs, and decided to put him in her room. Only after tucking him in and making sure the curtains were closed did she de-transform.

About two hours later, Kisshu started to wake up, and Ichigo noticed. "Kisshu?" she asked softly.

Kisshu opened his eyes and looked at her. "Koneko-chan?" he asked. "Why am I in your room?"

"The young woman who helped us drove us back here after Pai healed you," Ichigo said. "He said he didn't have enough energy to heal Taruto and still teleport us back to the ship, so I said I'd take you home with me. How are you feeling?"

"I feel kind of lightheaded; does that mean Pai didn't have enough power to fully heal me?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "Just take it easy, okay? Pai said he'd be by to check on you soon."

"Wait, what happened with Deep Blue?" Kisshu asked, sounding worried.

Ichigo smoothed his hair back, calming him down a bit as she said, "I killed him, don't worry about it. And Pai took your sais back with him."

"You're not hurt?" Kisshu asked.

"Nope, I'm fine," Ichigo said, smiling.

"Good," Kisshu said. He sounded kind of tired, and Ichigo said softly, "Kish, get some more rest; you need it to get better."

Kisshu sighed and settled back against the pillows. Ichigo climbed onto the bed with him, and started stroking his hair as he fell asleep.

Five hours later, she was tired too, but when she tried to get up, Kisshu made a sad noise. Sighing, Ichigo climbed in with him, feeling him snuggle against her as she fell asleep.

_**The next morning: **_Ichigo woke up to find that Kisshu was sitting up, stroking her hair. "Morning Koneko-chan," he said. "How'd you sleep?"

"I slept really well," Ichigo said. "How about you?"

"Same here," Kisshu said. "I feel a lot better. Oh, and I called Pai, so he should be here after he checks on Taruto."

"Okay," Ichigo said.

A few minutes later, Pai teleported in and immediately looked stern. "Why are you two sleeping together?" he asked.

"Kisshu didn't seem to like it when I tried to get up, so I climbed in with him," Ichigo said, shrugging. "It was comfy…."

Pai just sighed and came over, putting a hand on Kisshu's chest. "You should take it easy today, but you should be fine by tomorrow," he said. "No flying or teleporting today, though. I can take you two back to the ship if you want."

"Koneko-chan, can we go back to my room?" Kisshu asked.

"Sure," Ichigo said. "I left my stuff there anyways. Let's just get shoes on, 'kay?"

"Okay," Kisshu said. He got up and put his boots on, while Ichigo grabbed her sneakers. When they were both ready, Pai teleported them to Kisshu's room, and left them to their own devices, with a reminder of "Don't go too far, or I'll doom the both of you."

"Yeah, whatever," Kisshu said. "You don't have to worry, we won't go too far. Just kissing."

Pai sighed and teleported out. Ichigo smirked and pounced on Kisshu, startling him. Then he smirked back and asked, "Feeling playful today, kitty?"

"Yup!" Ichigo said happily, and kissed him.

**Semi-long…. This WILL NOT be continued, so for those of you who like to follow these one-shots, I just want to let you know that if it says 'Complete' it IS complete. I don't want people to get disappointed. With that said, I hope you all enjoyed this!**


End file.
